Rail-anchor



H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED oer. a. 1919 Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

H. H. SPONENBURG.

RAIL ANCHOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 3. 1919.

Patented Nov, 2, 1920.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

HIRAM H. srolvniviauae, or GURNEE, ILLINOISQASSIGNOR, BY

'I' OTTO R. BARNETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

nan-Auction.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Application filed October 3, 1919. Serial No. 328,253.

To aZZcO hom it may concern: Be it known that I, HIRAM H. SPoNEN- BURG,a citizen of the United States, resid- .vice with abend which will mitthe jaws ing at Gurnee, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Anchors,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rail anchors for resisting the tendency ofrailroad rails to move longitudinally and has for its'principal objectto provide a novel form of anticreeping device which may be readily applied to rails, the base flanges of which vary in width or thickness,which when in operative position will maintain its initial grip on therail with spring pressure so that it will not be displaced or loosenedby the vibration of the rail or other disturbing influence, and whichwill take a biting hold on the rail base during a creeping action of therail. i'

The above objects are obtained by making an anchor device with jaws, thedistance between which is normally'less than the width of' the rail baseto which the device is intended to be applied, and forming the deyieldto perto beengaged with opposite edges of the rail base.

The invention also contemplates a device formed with a spring jaw whichwill yield to facilitatethe application of the device to the rail andwhich will bear with spring pressure against the upper and lowersurfaces of the rail base.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated inthe accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of a railroad rail showing a rail anchor deviceconstructed in accordance with my invention applied to the base flangethereof, a portion of the anchor device'being broken away so as *toillustrate the manner in which the device takesa biting hold on the railbase during the presence of a creeping action of the rail.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the device shown in Fig. 1, and illustratingin dotted lines one of the positions which the anchor device assumeswhile the same is being applied to the base flange of a rail.

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the anchor device shown in thepreceding figures; and

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a POI? tion of a railroad railshowing my preferred form of anchor device applied thereto in operativeposition.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figuresof the draw- 1n s.

The rail anchor device illustrated in the drawings is preferably madefrom a flat piece of spring metal bent to form jaw portions 10, 11,which engage opposite edges of the base flange of a railroad rail 12,and is provided with a downwardly extending portion 13'which abutsagainst one of the vertical faces of a cross-tie 14. The jaw portion 10is formed by bending one end of MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,-

the metal blank upwardly to form an ir'reg- I rail base@ The portion ofthe metal blank intervening between said lips extends down- Wardly toprovide a spring tongue 21 which engages the vertical edge of the railbase. The lips 22, 23, being of sprin metal will yield when the jaw 10is force on the rail, 0

base and bear with spring pressure against the inclined surface thereof,the resiliency ofthese lips in addition to holding the body portion ofthe anchor in frictional contact [with the bottom surface of the railbase so as to maintain a tight initial grip of the jaw on the rail, willalso flex sufficiently to permit the application of the device to railshaving base flanges which vary in thickness or contour] The body portion24 is preferably offset, as shown at .25 to permit the tongue 21 toextend below the lower edge of the rail; the lower edge of the tonguebeing, preferably, bent inwardly, was indicated at 25 so as to extend ashort distance under the base flange. The other end of the blank isbentfupwardly, as indicated at 26 to form the jaw 11, which engages theoppositeedge of the rail base. terminates in an outwardly projectingbend forming a loop 27. This loop facilitates the application of thedevice to the rail'by providing a curved surface 28 adjacent the jawportion 11 adapted to ride over the lower edge of the rail base when thedevice is being L applied, and also provides a suitable hooked This'endof the anchor portion through which a crow-bar 29 or other suitableelement may be inserted to enable the workmen to strain the bentportions of the device sufficiently to permit the edge 30 of the jaw 11to clear the rail when the device is being applied. The tie-abuttingflange 130i the device is arranged adj acent one end of the device,preferably adjacent the jaw 10 and the other end 18 made somewhatnarrower than that of jaw 10, so that the jaw 11 will normally stand ashort distance away from the tie. The tie-abutment 18 being formed atone end of the anchor will permit a slight skewing action of the devicewhen the rail tends to creep to: ward the tie, and in this way tensionthe device to increase the grip of the device on the rail base. The lip21 of the jaw 10 andthe vertical portion 26 of the jaw 11 are formedwith sharpv edges 31, 32, which are adapted to take a biting-hold on thevertical edges of the rail during the said creeping action so as toprevent any appreciable relative movement between the rail and theanchor device. If desired-the sharp edges may be embedded into the edgeof the rail when the device is being applied by striking the portion onwhich these edges are formed so as to drive the sharp edges into therail.

- When the anchor is thus far applied it astill sumes the positionillustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. A crow-bar or some suitabledevice is then inserted through the hook portion of the jaw 11 and theanchor sprung in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2

until the edge 30 of the jaw 11 clears the edge or the rail, as shown infull lines in the drawing. The rear edge of the portion 26 of jaw 11 andthe forward edge of the tongue 21 of the jaw 10 may then be tapped till)hill with a hammer or some suitable device to embed the sharp edges 31,32 in the vertical edge of the rail.

I claim:

1. A! rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member formed withjaws which engage opposite edges of a rail base, said jaws being adaptedto yield to compensate for variations in the width or contour of thebase flanges of rails to which the anchor is applied.

. 2. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member formed withjaws which engage opposite edges of a rail base, said jaws being adaptedto yield to permit the application of the anchor to a rail and tocompensate for variations in the width or contour of the base flanges ofrails to which the anchor 15 applied. 5 J

E. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member formed at oneend with eaaaeo a jaw which engages one edge of the rail base and at theother end with a loop providing a jaw which engages the opposite edge ofsaid base; said loop being adapted to yield to permit the application ofthe first mentioned jaw to the rail and being formed with resilientmembers which engage the inclined surface of saidbase Flange and areadapted to yield vertically.

rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member formed at one endwith a which engages one edge oi the rail base and at the other end witha loop providing a jaw which engages the opposite edge of said base;said loop being adapted to yield to permit the application of the firstmentioned jaw to its operative position and to yield vertically so as toresiliently engage the upper and lower faces of the base flange.

5. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member formed at oneend with a jaw which engages one edge of the rail base and at the otherend with a loop providing a jaw which engages the. opposite edge of saidbase; said loop be ng adapted to yield to permit the application of thedevice to rails having base flanges of various widths and beingformedwith vertically yieldable members which engage the inclinedsurface of said base flange.

6. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having a tieabutting flange and formed at one end with a jaw which engages one edgeof the rail base and at the other end with a loop providing a jaw whichengages the opposite edge of said base; said loop being adapted to yieldto permit the application of the device to rails having base flanges ofvarious widths and being formed with vertically yieldable members whichengage the inclined surface of said base flange.

7. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having jawswhich engage opposite edges of the base flange of a railand providedwith a tie abutment; one a of said jaws being in the form ofa verticallydisposed loop the free end of which yields to permit the application ofthe device to the rail and bears with spring pressure against thevertical edge of the rail base when the device is in operative position.

8. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having jawswhich engage opposite edges'of the base flange of a rail and providedwith a tie abutment; one of said jaws being in the form of a loop thetree end of which bears with spring pressure against the vertical edgeand inclined sur face of the rail base and being adapted to yield topermit the application of the other jaw to the rail.

9. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having jawswhich engage opposite edges of the base flange of a rail; one of saidjaws being in the form of q a loop the free end of which is slit'and theedges thereof bent to engage the upper surface of the base flange atpoints longitudinally remote from each other.

11. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having jawswhich engage opposite edges of the baseflange of a rail; one of saidjaws being in the form of a loop the free end ,of which is slit and theedges thereof bent to provide resilient elements which engage the uppersurface of the base flange.

12. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having jawswhich engage oppositefedgesof .the base flange of a railone of said jawsbeing in the form I of a loop the free end of which is slit and theedges thereof bent to provide resilient elements which engage the uppersurfaceof the base flange and the portion intervening .between the saidslits providing aspring tongue which engages the vertical edge of therail base.

13. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having a jawwhich fits over" one edge ofthe rail base and vwith a. jawwhich'fi-ts'over the. opposite edge of said base; the firstmentioned jawbeing adapted to be strained'to permit the second mentioned jaw to beoperatively engaged with the rail base. L,

14;. A rail anchor comprising'a rail base embracing member havin a jawwhich fits over one edge of the rail base and with a jaw which fits overthe opposite edge of said base; the first mentioned jaw being adapted tobe strained topermit the second mentioned jaw to be operatively engagedwith the rail base andthe said last men l tioned jaw being provided withan out-.

- w'ardly curved tongue which'rides over the edge of the rail base whenthe anchor is applied.

15 A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having a jawwhich fits 16. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing memberhaving a jaw of a substantially loop shape which 'fit's over one edgeof'the rail base and with a jaw which fits over the opposite edge ofsaid base; the first mentioned jaw being adapted to be strained topermit the second mentioned 1j)aw tobe operatively engaged with the railase. w 17. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member havingjaws which fit over opposite edges of the base flange of a' rail one ofsaid jaws being of substantially loop-shape having a plurality ofreverse bends and being adapted to yield to permit the application ofthe other jaw to its operative position. I

18. A rail anchor comprising'a rail base embracing member having atie-abutment, jaws which fit over opposite edges of the base flange of arail one of said jaws being ofsubstantially loopshape hav1ng a pluralityof reverse bends and being adapted to yield to permit the application ofthe other jaw to its'operative position.

19. A rail anchor comprising a rail base embracing member having.jaws'which engage with opposite edges of the rail base and having sharpedges adapted to be enrbedded in the vertical edge of said base to" 20.A one piece anchor made from a flat piece of spring metal bent toprovide jaws which engage with opposite -edges of the rail base" andhaving sharp edges adapted to be embedded in the vertlcal edge of saidbase 'to increase its hold thereon; one of said aws being ofsubstantially loopshape and being adapted to yield to permit the otherjaw to be applied 'to its operative position.

. IRAMH'. SPONENBURG;

